Chapter 13

Under the dim light, Xiao Fei leaned over a small square table, spreading out a sheet of manuscript paper and holding a fountain pen in his hand.

He was about to start his grand writing project.

His family had gone to the cotton fields to fight the cotton bollworms, leaving him alone at home, which gave him a quiet period of time.

Holding the pen, he felt a bit sentimental.

It had been years since he had written with a pen, and for a moment, Xiao Fei really felt a bit unaccustomed. In 1996, computers were still rare in cities, let alone in the countryside.

In this era, writing still relied on pens, with every word written out by hand.

It was commonly known as "crawling the grid."

The room was very hot, with the doors and windows open, but no breeze came in. Xiao Fei was only wearing a pair of shorts, and he was still drenched in sweat, which flowed like a stream.

What should he write?

Xiao Fei wiped the sweat off his body with a towel and pondered.

To earn more稿费 (manuscript fees), he should write for magazines, such as "Storytelling," "Classic Legends," "Heart-to-Heart," "Family," "Girlfriend," and "Love, Marriage, and Family." The manuscript fees for these magazines were quite high, starting at 200 yuan per thousand characters.

However, the publication cycle for magazines was long. Even if the manuscript passed the final review smoothly, it could take at least two to three months to be published. After the article was published, it would take another month to receive the manuscript fee.

It would take four to five months to get paid, and Xiao Fei couldn't wait that long.

So, he decided to write for newspapers first.

Newspapers, especially daily papers, were published almost every day, and it was much easier to get articles published in the supplements. As long as the quality was good, the editor could publish the article within two to three days of receiving it, and the manuscript fee would be received within a month.

This was the best option for someone like Xiao Fei, who wanted quick results and to earn manuscript fees quickly.

Xiao Fei thought of two editors he had befriended in his previous life: Zhang Chenggong, the editor of the "Dahé Supplement" of the H Province Daily, and Liu Zelai, the editor of the "Baihuatái Supplement" of the Z City Evening News.

Zhang Chenggong was from S City, H Province. He was a poet, warm and sincere, loved playing soccer, and enjoyed making friends. He was elegant and literary, often wearing loose Tang-style clothing, and had a romantic heart.

Liu Zelai, on the other hand, was from the northwest, a tall and generous man, good at drinking, and very responsible. His favorite thing to do was to nurture promising authors.

These two editors were the ones Xiao Fei knew best.

In his previous life, Xiao Fei had a very good relationship with them and understood them well. Submitting manuscripts to them would not result in them being overlooked.

Another important reason was that the manuscript fees for the supplements of these two newspapers were also quite good.

The Z City Evening News paid a fixed fee of 50 yuan per article, regardless of length.

The H Province Daily paid a bit more, at 70 yuan per thousand characters.

So, he decided to write a batch of articles for these two newspapers first. As for the type of articles, Xiao Fei didn't even think about it; he decided to write anti-motivational essays.

Motivational articles were timeless in every era. Struggles in adversity, relentless progress, success stories, lessons from failure, and touching, emotional stories were always topics of interest.

China in the 1990s to the early 2000s was itself a very motivational story.

The economy grew rapidly, national strength increased quickly, and China surpassed one major power after another.

It was a wonderful era of active thinking, a hundred schools of thought contending, and a positive and optimistic national spirit.

In 1990, poet Wang Guozhen became famous nationwide for his motivational poems, sparking the last wave of poetry enthusiasm.

In 1993, the American book "Chicken Soup for the Soul," edited by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, was published and became a bestseller not only in the United States but also worldwide.

Similarly, in the 1990s, Taiwanese writer Liu Yong's essay collections "Whispers of the Firefly" and "Light a Lamp in Your Heart" were also very popular in China.

In short, this era was absolutely the domain of motivational and reflective essays.

If the text submitted to the newspaper supplements could reveal something unique from the surface of life, achieving a 100% hit rate was easy.

However, Xiao Fei did not intend to write motivational or inspirational articles himself.

He knew that after the new millennium, especially after 2010, a wave of anti-motivational sentiment swept through China. Many social elites took it upon themselves to criticize motivational articles, viewing them as mental ***, a soul-numbing injection, and having a very negative impact.

To make a splash, he had to make a bold and shocking statement!

Xiao Fei knew this very well.

Since he had been reborn, Xiao Fei did not intend to be mediocre and follow the crowd. He wanted the world to remember him, to stir up a storm and gain a great reputation!

Fame should be sought early!

Moreover, he was already 19 years old and could no longer wait patiently.

That night, Xiao Fei was drenched in sweat, writing feverishly at his desk.

Focusing on the theme of "anti-motivational," he wrote ten articles in one go: "Is Chicken Soup for the Soul a Mental ***?" "False Motivation," "On the A-Q Spirit of Chicken Soup," "Self-Cultivation and Criticizing the World," "What Kind of Chicken Soup Articles Nourish the Soul," and so on.

Since it was a draft, he wrote very quickly.

He barely lifted his head, and when his wrist got tired, he would stretch a bit and continue.

His father and the others returned after 10 PM that night. By then, Xiao Fei had finished writing his articles, put them away, and planned to copy them neatly the next morning and submit them in the afternoon.

After Xiao Fei returned, the living space at home became even tighter.

But it was still manageable in the summer.

Xiao Yang threw a mat and a sheet at Xiao Fei, saying, "Let's go! Sleep outside on the road, it's cooler!"

That night, the two brothers spread out the mat on the road in front of their house and slept there.

The weather was too hot, and sleeping inside was uncomfortable. Many people were sleeping on the roads to enjoy the coolness, lying everywhere.

The sky was full of stars and the moon, and the summer insects chirped. A gentle breeze blew, making it much more comfortable than the stifling heat inside.

Xiao Yang fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the mat.

Xiao Fei, however, couldn't sleep at all. His mind was too excited. He wondered if raising the banner of anti-motivational writing in 1996 was a bit too early.

After all, it was still the early stage of motivational writing in China. It wasn't until the early 2000s that motivational literature reached its peak, and its various drawbacks and flaws began to be exposed, leading to criticism.

Xiao Fei was starting his anti-motivational writing a full decade early. His bold and shocking arguments would certainly spark public interest and help him achieve his goal of attracting attention.

But he would also face enormous pressure.

After all, in the minds of most modern people, motivational writing represented positive energy, a force that inspired people to strive, and a symbol of an era's faith.

Critiquing motivational writing at this point was like poking a hornet's nest, and getting stung all over would be the least of his worries.

Moreover, Xiao Fei was a bit worried that his overly radical articles might be rejected by the editors.

He wasn't afraid of poking the hornet's nest; after all, fame comes with risks!

What he feared most was that the editors would be too cautious and shelve his articles.

After some thought, he concluded that Liu Zelai was more ideologically radical and bolder. So, he decided to submit all ten articles to him.

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